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Call for papers - Evolving implementation science concepts and methods in low- and middle-income countries

Guest Editors

Olakunle Alonge, MD, PhD, MPH, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
Meredith B. Brooks, PhD, MPH, Boston University School of Public Health, USA

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 19 December 2024


BMC Global and Public Health is calling for submissions to our Collection on implementation science in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Implementation science, crucial for achieving health-related United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, focuses on bridging the gap between evidence-based practices and their real-world application by practitioners and policymakers. This interdisciplinary approach aims to maximize the impact of evidence-informed interventions, acknowledging the contextual differences between high-income countries (HIC) and low- and middle-income countries. While theories and frameworks from HIC may not directly apply to LMIC contexts, there is a need to amplify insights from LMIC implementation science studies to ensure progress towards global health goals.

To honor their lifetime of implementation research achievements and their contributions to BMC Global and Public Health, this Collection is dedicated to Dr Phyllis Dako-Gyeke. 

New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Olakunle Alonge, MD, PhD, MPH, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

Olakunle Alonge, MD, PhD, MPH is the Director of the Sparkman Center for Global Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA – where he leads global health education, research, and practice in partnership with academic institutions, government, and NGOs in different countries to achieve health equity and social development worldwide. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, and his MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics and PhD in international health systems from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA. Dr. Alonge uses multiple methods, including quantitative, qualitative, and system science approaches to study and facilitate effective implementation of global health programs across diverse LMIC settings. His teaching and research focus on advancing the field of implementation research and applying its methods to improve the implementation of health system strengthening strategies and complex health initiatives for addressing injuries, mental health, maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases to achieve real-world impact and closing health inequity gaps globally.

Meredith B. Brooks, PhD, MPH, Boston University School of Public Health, USA

Dr Meredith Brooks is an Assistant Professor of Global Health at Boston University School of Public Health; she earned her PhD in Population Health from Northeastern University and subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Tuberculosis Epidemiology at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on increasing the uptake of evidence-based interventions and strategies that aim to improve the detection, diagnosis, and care of individuals with tuberculosis disease. Her most current work includes improving the integration of pediatric tuberculosis treatment decision-making algorithms into programmatic care and assessing various large-scale community-based tuberculosis screening programs.

In memoriam: Phyllis Dako-Gyeke, PhD, University of Ghana, Ghana

Phyllis Dako-Gyeke, PhD, was an Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana. Phyllis taught, conducted research, and provided extension services in public health's social and behavioral dimensions. Her expertise was in designing and conducting implementation research in low- to middle-income contexts, especially across sub-Saharan Africa. Phyllis published widely in international peer-reviewed journals on the subject of implementation research. As the Principal Investigator for the Regional Training Centre in the WHO Afro region supported by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), Phyllis led implementation research capacity strengthening across Africa.

About the Collection

BMC Global and Public Health is calling for submissions to our Collection on implementation science in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Implementation science, crucial for achieving health-related United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, focuses on bridging the gap between evidence-based practices and their real-world application by practitioners and policymakers. This interdisciplinary approach aims to maximize the impact of evidence-informed interventions, acknowledging the contextual differences between high-income countries (HIC) and low- and middle-income countries. While theories and frameworks from HIC may not directly apply to LMIC contexts, there is a need to amplify insights from LMIC implementation science studies to ensure progress towards global health goals.

Health interventions would never reach their expected impact unless wisely implemented. Implementation science refers to the study of methods that facilitate the uptake of evidence-based practice into regular use by practitioners and policymakers and is increasingly recognized as important for achieving health-related United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It seeks to close the gap between what is known and what to do, thus improving health services and outcomes through an interdisciplinary approach. Successful implementation strategies could maximize the beneficial impact of evidence-informed interventions (including programs, policies, and practices) at scale in real-world contexts. Given the extent to which context shapes implementation, implementation science may be highly contextualized, and concepts, principles, and methods from one setting may not be readily transportable to another. This should be considered when comparing implementation science studies from high-income countries (HIC) and low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This is why certain implementation science theories, models, and frameworks developed in HIC are only readily applicable in LMIC with further adaptations. However, inherent publication biases that advantage academic cultures, philosophies, and systems from HIC have limited the visibility of implementation science studies from LMIC and insights into how the field has differentially evolved in LMIC, where more progress for achieving the UN SDGs is still needed. 

The limited insights from LMIC may have further impacted our understanding of how implementation science can be applied to achieve health equity – since addressing health inequities is a major priority in resource-limited settings, where most of the LMIC population resides.   

To capture global efforts and novel approaches in this multidisciplinary area, BMC Global and Public Health is pleased to announce a call for papers for our upcoming Collection entitled ‘Evolving implementation science concepts and methods in low- and middle-income countries’, guest edited by Dr Olakunle Alonge, from the Sparkman Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA and Dr Meredith B. Brooks, PhD, MPH, from the Boston University School of Public Health, USA.  

We are now inviting the submission of manuscripts of outstanding interest covering the breadth of multidisciplinary studies, including quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and multi-methods studies that apply concepts and methods from implementation science to improve health services and outcomes, especially health equity, in LMICs. We envision this work advancing the growth of the field of implementation science globally. 

We encourage submissions that address the following themes:
•    New concepts, theories, or frameworks for implementation science in LMIC contexts
•    New methodology that advances implementation evaluation and mechanisms investigation
•    Implementation trials and hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials for public health intervention
•    Pilot/feasibility studies of full-scale implementation projects
•    Studies of adaptation and implementation of evidence-based public health interventions in LMIC
•    Explorations of sociocultural factors for successful implementation of public health projects  
    
This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

We encourage work from local, regional, and global partnerships and collaboration among scientists from multidisciplinary fields using multiple methodologies. Please note that we are not able to consider studies that are too clinically focused. We further ask that authors be attentive to the use of non-stigmatizing/preferred language in their manuscripts as outlined in relevant language guidelines for their respective fields. 

Image credit: wladimir1804 / stock.adobe.com

  1. Although HIV vertical transmission has declined significantly in sub-Saharan Africa, incident HIV infection in pregnant and postpartum women is estimated to account for over one-third of HIV vertical transmiss...

    Authors: Aurelie Nelson, Kalisha Bheemraj, Sarah Schoetz Dean, Alex de Voux, Lerato Hlatshwayo, Rufaro Mvududu, Natacha Berkowitz, Caroline Neumuller, Shahida Jacobs, Stephanie Fourie, Thomas Coates, Linda Gail-Bekker, Landon Myer and Dvora Joseph Davey
    Citation: BMC Global and Public Health 2024 2:57

Submission Guidelines

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To submit your manuscript, please use the BMC Global and Public Health online submission system and indicate in your covering letter that you would like the article to be considered for the 'Evolving implementation science concepts and methods in low- and middle-income counties' Collection. If you would like to enquire about the suitability of a manuscript for consideration, please email bmcglobalpublichealth@biomedcentral.com.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.